Botanical Garden (Botanisk Have), Copenhagen

A historic oasis in the middle of Copenhagen

The Botanical Garden, or Botanisk Have, spreads across around 10 hectares just a short stroll from Copenhagen’s busy shopping streets. Established in its current location in the 1870s, it was carefully laid out as both a scientific garden and a public park, with curving paths, sweeping lawns and a central lake that reflects the surrounding trees and glasshouses. Even though the city hum is never far away, once you step inside the gates the atmosphere shifts to something calmer and more contemplative. The garden forms part of the Natural History Museum of Denmark and holds the country’s largest living plant collection. Beds are organised into sections covering everything from native Danish flora to alpine rockeries, conifers and perennial borders. As you wander, subtle changes in planting and microclimate guide you from cool, shaded corners to sunny slopes and herb-scented borders.

Plant worlds gathered from across the globe

Botanical labels hint at just how global the collection is. One area focuses on Danish species, offering a compact survey of plants you would encounter in meadows, forests and coastal landscapes. Nearby, a rock garden recreates high mountain conditions with plants from Central and Southern Europe clinging to carefully arranged stonework. Further on, Conifer Hill gathers evergreens in sculptural silhouettes, while perennial and annual beds become a riot of colour in late spring and summer. The garden also maintains gene banks, preserving rare and threatened species. Even in the colder months, the structure of shrubs, seed heads and evergreens keeps the landscape visually engaging, and the glasshouses add a sense of promise on grey days.

The Palm House and its glasshouse companions

The showpiece of the garden is the grand Palm House, a cast‑iron and glass conservatory dating from 1874. Inspired by the Victorian glass palaces of its era, its central dome and flanking wings shelter tall palms, lianas and lush understorey plants in warm, humid air. Inside, a narrow spiral staircase leads up to an elevated gallery, where you can look down over the palm crowns and out through curved glass panes. Adjoining glasshouses extend the climatic range further. One houses plants from cool Arctic and alpine environments, where dwarf shrubs and cushion plants thrive in carefully controlled conditions. In warmer months, a Butterfly House brings you into close proximity with free‑flying butterflies that weave among flowering plants, adding movement and colour to the greenhouse glow.

Seasonal moods and everyday city escapes

The garden’s character changes with the calendar. In early spring, bulbs push through the soil around bare trunks, followed by waves of rhododendrons, magnolias and herbaceous borders as temperatures rise. Summer days draw locals onto the lawns around the lake, sitting with books or picnic baskets under mature trees while the city’s towers peek over the canopy. Autumn paints the arboretum in copper and gold, and the lake mirrors both falling leaves and the white ribs of the Palm House. In winter, paths can be crisp underfoot, and the glasshouses offer a welcoming contrast, wrapping you in warmth and the scent of damp soil and foliage. Any time of year, the garden works as a gentle reset between museums, shops and city traffic.

Quiet corners, learning moments and gentle exploration

Beyond its visual charm, the Botanical Garden is also a place of learning. Discreet information boards explain themes such as plant evolution, adaptation and conservation. Latin names sit alongside common ones, inviting you to linger a little longer over unfamiliar leaves or seed pods. The proximity of the Natural History Museum underscores the garden’s role in research and education. Practical touches help sustain the unhurried atmosphere: gravel and paved paths make most areas easy to explore, there are benches placed for restful views, and a small café and shop provide refreshments and plant‑themed souvenirs. Whether you stay for a short circuit around the lake or a half‑day weaving between glasshouses and garden rooms, the space encourages slow, observant exploration rather than rushed sightseeing.

A living collection at the heart of the museum district

The garden is also woven into a wider cultural landscape. It belongs to the Parkmuseerne district, a cluster of museums and historic parks in central Copenhagen, and the Natural History Museum sits in one corner. Together, they link indoor exhibitions on minerals, fossils and biodiversity with the living specimens outside. Because the outdoor areas are free to enter, many people use the paths as part of their daily routines, passing through on the way to work or study and pausing briefly under familiar trees. That mix of everyday use and scientific purpose gives the garden a distinctive character: part research collection, part neighbourhood park, and part time capsule of 19th‑century garden design preserved in the middle of a modern European capital.